Tomorrow in Ostend, the latest chapter of a book that Wout Van Aert has been writing since 2012, together with another "author", Mathieu Van Der Poel. It is the book of their challenges, which It is no longer just focused on cyclocross, but also extends to the road as the Tour of Flanders demonstrated last year.
Five to four
Tomorrow on the difficult Belgian course the two will meet for another world championship: so far the balance, starting from the comparisons between the juniors, is 5 titles to 4 for the Dutchman, but in 2020 Van Aert was still limping from the terrible crash in the 2019 Tour. For this reason the challenge on home soil is so important for the Belgian e Sunday's victory in Overijse It gave him that hint of optimism that was missing.
«This winter I heard about have reached a better level than the previous two – he declared on the eve of the race on the website www.redbull.com I was able to compete more And that made me very happy. Winning the world championship remains a very important goal for me, but now I'm also looking further ahead, at other road-related targets, and that helps me approach the event with less tension."
Only technique
After Overijse the standard-bearer of the Team Jumbo Visma he pulled the plug a bit, for approach the World Cup with full batteries.
My coach always calls the last week before a race a "diversion week." I train much less so I can be completely fresh at the start. The focus is therefore on intensity and cross-techniques».
Road only
This year the Van Aert's preparation was different than usual: no specific training camp in December, but physically and mentally already focused on the road season, participating in the team's first pre-season retreat in Spain dedicating themselves body and soul to the asphalt, without even bringing their dirt bikes.
«A choice like this is not only very useful for the road season – he says – but certainly It also helps in preparing for the cyclocross world championshipsThanks to the good weather in Spain and the mountains I was able to climb there, I got more profit from my work, especially in terms of resistance».
King of the Sand
He really likes the race course (he won there in 2017 at the Belgian Championships), especially the sand section.
«I think this is a path that really suits me very well – he says. Cycling on sand requires a lot of strength and above all good techniqueAnd the high bridge leading to the head of the beach will also be decisive. The departure will be fundamental, also because it is a very narrow course at the beginning and I believe that after a short while the race situation will be clear".
Start at full speed
So let's go back to the discussions that started on Saturday after the defeat suffered at Hamme: if the Belgian manages not to lose ground to his rival at the start, it will be a fair challenge...
«I expect a very quick start – he admits – the beach will come immediately after, so it's important to go full speed ahead from the startMy best part will be the one on the sand, I worked a lot on explosiveness and technique for this very reasonThe difficulty at the World Championships in Ostend is that there are clearly two parts: a part on the beach where you can use smooth tyres – almost without tread – and a part of the racecourse where you run on grass and the climate can have a big influence."
